William b



(NoModeL) v w. R.'MILLER.

v AMALGAMATOR.

No. 245,200. Patented Aug. 2,1881.

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/ I 4 I! l I j x .1 a! a WITNESSES. !NVENTOR BY 1 z I ATTORNEY;

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UNITED STATES PATENT O FIcE.

WILLIAM B. MILLER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

AMALGAMATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersgPatent No. 245,200, dated August 2, 1881.

Application filed June 9,1881. (No model) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM It. MILLER, of I Baltimore city, State of Maryland, have in-? vented certain new and useful Improvements? in Amalgamators; and I hereby declare theg same to be fully, clearly, and exactly described as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view; of-the device, and Fig. 2 is a horizontal sec-'- 'tional view on the line .00 as of Fig. 1.

My invention relates to that class of amal-i gamators in which the ore is thrown by con-@- trifu gal force against a surface adapted to retain mercury, such as amalgamated coppenf In the use of this class of devices, however,} the difficulty has been encountered that the? ore, issuing from the bottom of the machine, in a horizontal sheet, impinged upon a comparatively narrowand limited part of the am algamated surface, necessitating afrequent stop-l page of the machine to remove, clean, and reamalgamate the plate. The ore, playing con-5 tinually upon the same part of the amalgamated sheet, was liable to dislodge particles of adhering gold and amalgam, and the plate ,was: liable to be worn away at the plane of impact.{

My invention has for its object toyremedyi these defects in existing forms of amalgamat-i ors; and it consists, first, in a device of the class named having its amalgamated surface susceptible of a motion transverse to the plane of impact of the ore; second, in making theamalgamated surface in the form of tubing or rods, by preference susceptible of revolution about their axes third, in combining with the centrifugal amalgamator a mercury-distributer adapted to shower mercury upon the amalgamated surface; fourth,in constructing the centrifugal machine proper in the form of a hollow cylinder supported above a baseplate; and, specifically, in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings, A is the main frame of the machine, and B the outer shell or casing.

Q is a cylinder of amalgamated sheet metal,

and D is the pan to receive refuse ore, which is led off through the spout d.

H is a hollow cylinder, connected by arms j with an axial tube, e, that passes through a bearing in the beam F. At its lower end the tube is partially cut away, as at e, forming efflux-orifices, and is attached to the disk I.

The latter is supported below the lower rim of the cylinder H in such manner as to leave a narrow space, 1, between them.

Axially through the tube 6 passes a small pipe, G, which opens into a casing, at, below the disk I. This casing has a disk, m, corresponding in relation thereto to that borne by the disk I andcylinder H, a narrow annular space being left between them, as shown.

The tube 0 carries a pulley, (not shown,) and is driven by a belt or other suitable mechan-' ism, the revolving parts being mounted upon a step, E. A sleeve, 9, is mounted upon the tube 6, near the bottom, and is connected with a collar, '5', by means of rods h. A lever, 71., engages withthe collar 41' and passes between pins upon the depending beam i, which pins serve as fulcra, enabling the sleeve g to be raised or lowered to open or close the orifices e.

V A pair of rings, a c, surrounds the drum or cylinder H, and in these rings is supported a.

series of amalgamated-copper rods or tubes, 1)

1), arranged to turn freely within the rings and to be lifted out at the top. The rods are mounted, by preference, in a double row, the outer rods being located opposite the interstices between the inner ones.

The cage, consisting of the rings 0 and rods 1), is suspended by chains 0, that are led over pulleys p and are attached to a suitable pitman or crank driven by the mechanism for revolving thedrum, whereby a slow rising-and falling motion is imparted to the cage. In lieu of this, the cage may be periodically raised and lowered by hand, or the drum may be raised and lowered with reference to the cage.

In operation the rods 1) and plate 0 are suitably amalgamated. The drum and disk are caused to revolve and the cage to slowly rise and fall. The ore, being suitably comminuted, is-mixed with water and is fed through the central pipe or tube, 6, escaping at the bottom upon the disk I, whence it is projected outward by centrifugal force between the disk and drum upon the rods 11: The superior momentum of the particles of gold causes them to imbed themselves in the amalgam, the refuse ore falling into the pan D. Any material which passes between the rods encounters the amalgamated plate 0 and falls into the space exterior to the pan, whence it is drawn ofi through the spout a. Pending the revolution of the drum, as stated, the rods 1) rise and fall, exposing them throughout their entire length to the impact of the ore, equalizing wear and tear, and insuring the amalgamation of the gold. The impact of the ore, moreover, has the efi'eet to turn the rods back and forth, exposing their entire surface to the ore. From time to time the rods may be removed and the amalgam removed for distillation by passing the rods through a suitable scraping device. The return from this source will not, however, represent the total amount of gold amalgamated. Many particles of amalgam, mercury,

and partially-amalgamated gold are mechanically detached from the rods by the ore and fall with it into the pan. They are subsequently recovered by treating the refuse in a jig or other well-known form of separator.

When it is desired to reamalgamate the rods or plate 6, or both, it is only necessary to lower the sleeve 9 and pour a charge of mercury into the pipe G, the machine being kept in motion. The mercury is flirted out upon the rods and plate, adhering thereto.

In case the rods do not turn freely under the joltin g and impact of the ore they may be readily revolved by hand while the machine is in motion.

Instead of supplying the ore to the drum by means of the pipe 0, a suitable hopper or chute may be arranged to deliver the ore directly to the drum; but the described construction is preferred.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an amalgamatqr, mechanism, substantially as described, for projecting the ore outward, in combination with an amalgamated cage or plate having mechanism for movingit transversely to the plane of eliiux of the ore, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a centrifugal amalgamator, an amal gamated cage or plate for receiving the impact of the ore, consisting of a series of rods or tubes, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with a centrifugal amalgamator, a series of amalgamated rods or tubes fixed loosely in their bearings, whereby they may turn freely about their axes, as set forth.

4. In combination with a centrifugal amalgamator having an annular amalgamated cage or plate to receive the impaotof' the ore, a centrifugal mercury-distribnter, as set forth.

5. In combination with the amalgamated cage or plate having mechanism for moving it transversely with reference to the plane of impact of the ore, the revolving drum and disk having an intermediate annular space for the efilux of the ore, as set forth.

6. In combination with the centrifugal machine, the amalgamated rods and cireumjacent amalgamated plate, as set forth.

7. In combination with the centrifugal machine, the cage, consisting of a double row of independently movable and removable rods, as set forth.

8. In combination with the centrifugal machine, the rings 0, supporting the removable rods, and mechanism for lifting the said rings and rods, as set forth.

9. In combination with the centrifugal machine and mercury-distributor, the verticallymovablecagc, substantially as set forth. a v

10. In combination with the centrifugal ma chine and circumjacent amalgamated cage or plate, the central delivery-tube, the pipe G, and mercnry-distributer n m, substantially as set forth.

WM. R. MILLER.

W'itnesses:

R. D. WILLIAMS, JNo. T. MADDOX. 

